Here by Me
by PinkSandals
Summary: Dakota Lerman is a ten year old girl who saw something she shouldn't have. She's clingy to Catherine, and knows a little too much for comfort.
1. Divided

Disclaimer: I disclaim CSI. It makes me sad, but I do not own anything remotely related to CSI. Except the four seasons and my story ideas.

A little girl no older than ten ran out of the hospital into the blackness of midnight. She looked terrified. Actually, terrified was an understatement. She had long dark hair that curled up at the ends and big blue eyes that were probably very pretty when she wasn't petrified. She wore a pink shirt underneath overalls and her jacket was unzipped. She ran from the hospital parking lot across the highway and into a field next to a gas station, where she collapsed. Traffic on the highway continued on, not knowing she was there. Cars in the gas station circulated without knowledge of a little girl hidden in the long grass ten feet from the exit.


	2. Sun Beams

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own CSI.

Ambulances and police cars were gathered around the gas station like bears to an abandoned picnic. The little girl was sitting, looking rather flustered and scared and overtired and underfed, while two paramedics took her pulse and blood pressure and checked her out. She hadn't said a word, but she watched with great intensity to what was going on. Then, out of the blue, as if reality had just settled in, she began to cry.

"No parents?" Catherine said madly into her cell phone, "alone in a field. You have got to be kidding me," she said in disbelief, "yeah, I'll be right there," she hung up and muttered something about how she 'could not believe it' and headed to Grissom's office. She stepped in and waited for him to look up from whatever he was reading. "There's a little girl in Henderson who was found unconscious in a field beside a gas station with blood on her clothes." Catherine said in one breath. Grissom nodded in encouragement to let her know she could go and she left.

Catherine arrived at the hospital as quickly as possible. She found the little girl sitting on the edge of a bed looking through the window. The early morning sun streamed into the room and shone on her hair, which was still smooth despite its run-in with the dirt and plants of the desert.

"Hey," Catherine said carefully. The girl just turned to look at her. "Hey, my name's Catherine" She introduced herself. The girl still looked at her. Catherine kneeled down to be at eye level with the child. The little girl got up and wrapped her arms around Catherine without a word and just hugged her. Catherine was slightly surprised, but hugged her back. After a moment, the girl let go. Catherine felt hugely guilty for whatever she needed to know, but didn't. "What's your name?" Catherine asked. The little girl whispered something unintelligible. Catherine asked her to repeat it a little louder. She crawled up onto the bed and got under the covers. She looked at Catherine with her dark brown eyes and said with the sweetest little voice:

"Dakota Lerman."


	3. What made you say that?

Here by me chapter 2

Catherine smiled at the little girl, who still looked scared to death. She clung to her monotone hospital blanket like it was a part of her. She stared out the window at a car that pulled up to the emergency room. A man in a dull blue suit got out. She watched him. Catherine saw the girl's bloodied clothes folded neatly on the side table, and promptly bagged them. She turned to Dakota.

"So… Dakota? How old are you?" Catherine asked gently. Two lonely eyes sauntered over to meet Catherine. She paused to ponder her answer.

"Ten," Dakota said. Even if she looked more like seven. Catherine smiled. And opened her mouth to say something, but she continued, "Catherine?" Dakota asked suddenly. Happy to be striking up conversation finally, Catherine sat down at the foot of the bed. Dakota moved closer to her. "Catherine, would you EVER hurt your daughter?" the little girl asked. Catherine frowned.

"I don't remember telling you I had a daughter," Catherine said calmly, pretending not to be alarmed. Dakota grinned.

"You didn't." She said, enjoying Catherine's amusement. "But you were going to." She added. Catherine knew how eerily true that was. Dakota went on; "So Catherine, would you ever hurt your daughter?"

"No… no, I would never hurt my daughter." Catherine assured her. Dakota grabbed Catherine's hand.

"You're a good mother then," Dakota whispered. She cradled Catherine's hand in hers and lovingly brought it to her cheek. Catherine didn't exactly know what to do.

"Dakota?" The girl looked up and let go of Catherine's hand. "Do you know your home phone number, or some way we can contact your parents?" She asked. The little girl paused. Catherine waited.

"He does," Dakota said.

"Who?" Catherine asked, puzzled. Dakota said nothing. A second later, her phone rang. Watching Dakota like she was trying to read her for answers, Catherine picked up her phone. "Willows," she answered.

"Hey, Cat. It's Greg… someone just filed a missing persons on Dakota Lerman… she's ten, about four feet four inches, brown hair and eyes… I thought she matched the description of the kid found near the service station, anyways… her mother is here," he said hastily. Catherine thanked him and hung up. She looked over at Dakota, who was again staring out the window at the man in the ugly blue suit.

"Dakota, I'm… I have to go. But I'll come back, we can talk more then…" Catherine said. The little girl jumped out of the bed and grabbed Catherine's arm.

"Take me with you!" Dakota screeched. Catherine was confused.

"Dakota, your mommy is coming to pick you up. I have to go back to work… don't worry…" She assured the scared girl.

"Take me WITH YOU!" She screamed again, tightening her grip on the CSI.

"Okay," Catherine whispered, "Okay, you can come with me…" she said. Dakota smiled and hugged Catherine tight, again.


	4. With You

Catherine really had no choice in the matter. Dakota's grip on her arm was adamant and unwavering. She stood in the hospital room, deciding what to do. Dakota didn't budge.

"Look, sweetie…" Catherine said, kneeling down to the little girl's height. "Your mommy's coming to pick you up really soon, okay? Real soon!" Catherine assured her. Dakota's grip only tightened. Her eyes grew wide.

"I want to go with you, Catherine. I want to go with you," Dakota said forlornly, looking at her hand. She broke Catherine's heart.

"Okay," Catherine said, smiling, "Alright." Dakota grinned gleefully.

* * *

A couple hours later, at the lab, Catherine returned with Dakota tagging along behind her. She handed bag containing the girl's bloody clothes to Greg, who promptly went to analyze the blood. Dakota's mother Ruth was sitting with Warrick and Sara in the family room. She didn't see her daughter, as she was facing away and Dakota made no effort to be seen by her mother. Which Catherine observed as strange when she escorted the little girl into the interrogation room. Dakota was suddenly surprised at this. She looked questioningly at Catherine.

Ruth was kind of homely looking, unlike her daughter. She had mild features that stood alone and didn't really interact with each other. Her hair was unkept and frizzy, as Dakota's was wavy and smooth in a rich chocolate colour. She looked like the type to drive a pickup truck through a McDonalds drive thru and order the same thing each day. Her clothes looked old, maybe second hand. Which was funny, her daughter looked pretty well off. They didn't even seem related.

"We're going to ask you a few questions alright?" Catherine explained, seeing her look. Dakota absorbed this and carefully nodded. "Would you like your mother here too?" Catherine asked out of routine. Dakota frowned and shook her head 'no' very surely. She sat down hesitantly.

Ruth Lerman glanced towards the interrogation room, as Catherine entered the family room. She jumped up. Sara and Warrick stood up as she ran towards the interrogation room.

"Dakota! Honey are you alright? Don't tell them anything!" She screamed. Behind two walls of glass, Dakota shivered nervously. Catherine was forced to grab her, as she entered the room. Ruth instantly gave up her fight and menacingly glared at her daughter. She sat down as did Sara and Warrick. Catherine remained standing, in partial protection of the girl and still very surprised at the outburst.

"Mrs. Lerman, your daughter was found early this morning in a field, with blood all over her clothes… do you want to explain that?" Sara asked accusingly. She felt it best to be forceful with her, hoping to discover whatever needed to be found out. Ruth shook her head and looked at the floor.

"I only noticed she was gone this morning… she wasn't in bed," Ruth said, beginning to cry. Sara didn't buy the act. Nobody did.

"I'm curious Mrs. Lerman… as to what you don't want your daughter to tell us. If she'd just gone missing, there'd be nothing to tell on your part, right? Unless you were involved," Warrick stated. Ruth looked around the room, searching for a loophole.

"Mrs. Lerman? If there's something we need to know, you can tell us now." Catherine said. She shook her head.

"There's nothing you guys need to know. She's fine, I'm fine… can't we just go home? Deal with it ourselves?" Ruth asked. Catherine was shaking her head in disbelief, hoping she heard wrong.

"Mrs. Lerman," she said, opening Dakota's medical file, "Dakota was given a psychological evaluation at the hospital." Catherine said, like she was the bearer of bad news, "the doctor there diagnosed your daughter with a mild case of Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. Mrs. Lerman? Has Dakota lost someone close to her? Catherine asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to know the context of the answer. Ruth looked completely shocked.

"Well, my husband was killed last year… on the job, in a trucking accident. But Dakota went to a counselor, both kids did." Ruth said, confused. Catherine looked irritated. She glanced over to Dakota, who looked bored.

"Mrs. Lerman…" Catherine started, "Dakota told me… on the way here, she had no siblings." She said. Ruth looked furious.

"Just let me take Dakota home!" She wailed, running to the room where Dakota was. Her daughter started shrieking. The CSI's just watched as security took the not-so-sane-anymore woman away to a cell to calm down. Almost instantly, Greg returned, with results from the blood.

"The blood is from a relative, and it's male, either father or brother." Greg reported.

"Which means," said Sara, "it's probably a brother, if dad's dead." Warrick and Catherine nodded.

"A brother she denies having," Catherine said.

"Maybe," Warrick suggested, "maybe she saw something she shouldn't have."

"Oh definitely. And Ruth knows what," Catherine confirmed that was what she was thinking too. She looked over again to Dakota, like she was responsible for her now. Dakota looked like she was caught red-handed, she looked guilty of something. But whatever she was, it was only half of how scared she looked.


	5. The Story

Catherine entered the interrogation room to be with Dakota, as she watched her mother being dragged away. Catherine knew Dakota was clever, so she was thinking out strategies to get the most information out of the girl. When Ruth was out of sight, Dakota looked at Catherine.

"So." Catherine said, trying to sound upbeat. She then felt stupid, re-realizing what the girl had gone through. "Can you tell me a story, Dakota?" Catherine asked, trying to sound engaging. Dakota completely fell for it.

"What kind of story Catherine?" She asked eagerly.

"Tell me about what you did last night." Catherine suggested.

"I can't tell you THAT one!" Dakota said, laughing.

"How come?" Said Catherine, laughing with her. Dakota couldn't find an answer. Catherine had an idea. She took Dakota by the hand, and they left the building.


	6. Ice Cream Confessions

Catherine and Dakota sat in the sunshine, eating ice cream. Dakota seemed apprehensive at first, like ice cream was a real novelty, but really got into it as time went on. Catherine observed this and took note of it.

"So," Catherine said, turning to face the little girl, "I need you to tell me the truth about something, Dakota." She said. Dakota looked at Catherine, truly enjoying her ice cream. Catherine continued; "I have a machine that can tell me the truth about some things, and my job is to put the pieces of truth it tells me into a whole big story of what happened," she explained, making sure she understood. Catherine detected a hint of nervousness, that told her she was accomplishing what she'd set out to do.

"And Dakota, that machine told me the truth about the blood on your clothes. I need you to tell me whose it is," Catherine said, testing the water as it were, hoping Dakota would somehow answer her. The little girl turned, and ate another scoop of ice cream, and grinned.

"I lied before," Dakota said, taking another scoop. Catherine was glad she finally decided to tell her about the mystery brother.

"I'm six. I'm six years old, not ten." She said. Confused, Catherine stood, stripped for a second, not knowing what to make of that. "My mom said I had to pretend like I was older, and that it would help us," she added. Catherine finally absorbed this, and made the connection of her previous notation that Dakota still had all her baby teeth.

"How would it help you?" Catherine asked, trying to meld her questions around what the girl was telling her. Dakota shrugged. "Remember," Catherine started, "remember when we first met in the hospital, and you asked me if I'd hurt my daughter?" Catherine asked,

"You'd never hurt Lindsey, you're a good mom, Catherine!" Dakota chirpped. "Does she like ice cream?" She asked. Catherine smiled and nodded yes, getting impatient that Dakota was doing such a good job of leading her off track.

"Dakota, what happened to your brother?" Catherine asked, sick of taking paths around the killer question. Dakota looked momentarily confused.

"I don't really have a brother." Dakota said, lowering her voice. She was thinking. "Catherine? If someone dies, and their souls get out, are they still people?"

Catherine was really shocked at that question. "If someone dies, they don't disappear, Dakota. When someone dies, they still had an existence, but just not in the present." she said, trying to put it simply. "Was there an accident?" she asked. Dakota finished her ice cream.

"We should get back now." Dakota said.


	7. That's how it was

As they walked back to the lab, Catherine wondered continuously about what Dakota could possibly mean by people's souls getting out when they died. People's souls getting out? Catherine didn't even know what it could possibly start to mean. Dakota skipped alongside her, happy and nonetheless resilient to the fact that she knew something serious had happened. They entered the lab, and Catherine returned Dakota to the interrogation room.

"Catherine?"

Catherine turned, to see Sara at the door. Dakota sat down.

"Could I talk with you? Outside?" She asked. Catherine left the room, being observed by the child who proudly seemed to have easily gotten everyone to work around her critical knowledge. Sara appeared to be figuring out the opportune way to say whatever it was she wanted to say. "Um…" she grinned, "blood from the same male donor was found in Ruth's car," she said. "Brass got a warrant to search Ruth Lerman's home with the blood evidence… and, well… another child definitely lives there." Sara reported. "The thing is, that they live almost 10 kilometers from where Dakota was found, and to me… it's illogical." Sara was confused. "Also, we found a birth certificate along with Dakota's for a Derek Lerman, who should be about ten years old, and I think he's the brother."

"A brother Dakota denies having." Catherine said.

"Well." Said Sara thoughtfully, "It's one thing to pretend you don't have a brother. But to deny your own son's existence is beyond me." She added. Dakota was still watching them talk. She slid out of her chair and headed outside, fixing her eyes on Sara. She walked up behind Catherine.

"Unless she's trying to hide something. I think," Catherine said, "since there was a hospital across the street from the field, there was an accident of some description. Ruth gets the kids in the car, she drives to the hospital, they get there and the worst happens. She loses track of her daughter, and Dakota, having witnessed it all, runs away…" she pondered, unaware of the third party. "Sara… thoughts?" Catherine inquired.

"That's how it was." Dakota said, alarming Catherine, who turned around, mortified at having said anything. The little girl came between Sara and Catherine. "That's how it was." She was looking at Catherine with a perplexing expression that could be read as defiance or a lie. The three stood there for a moment in silence, until Dakota slid over to Sara, and grabbed her hand.

"Like what happened to you," Dakota whispered to her new friend. "Except… well, except it's just different. But close to the same." She added, grinning madly.


End file.
